1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydrogen detection system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a fuel cell using hydrogen as a fuel gas has attracted attention as a clean energy source, and a fuel cell vehicle having the fuel cell as an energy source for driving the vehicle has been developed. Also, the fuel cell vehicle is provided with a hydrogen sensor for detecting leakage of hydrogen.
As the hydrogen sensor, a catalytic combustion type hydrogen sensor which has a simple structure and can be miniaturized easily is used. However, with respect to the hydrogen sensor, it is well known that if vapor of a silicon compound exists in an atmosphere of an operational environment, the silicon compound adheres to a detection element and a detection sensitivity deteriorates over time (silicon (Si) poisoning).
For this reason, a technique for covering a poisoned detection element by a silicon trapping layer has been proposed (see WO 2007/099933 A1).